Tissue

Question 1

what happens in the poetry

Answer 1

• the initial phase of the poem talks abut the importance of paper as something we used to record our history and change things
• paper is shown as a delicate but still remains a huge catalyst changing elements of our lives
• the final stages of the poem talk of constructing things, especially human life which is far more complex and valuable

Question 2

form,, structure and context

Answer 2

• the poem lacks any regular rhythm or rhyme, it is written in nine, four line stanzas with a single line stanza to conclude
• the poem has a fairly clear structure, moving from ideas about history, on to the human experiences and finally to the formation of human life
• they have used enjambment across lines and between stanzas. this could indicate the following, delicate nature of both life and paper.
• the poem focuses on humanity rather than individuals.
• the poem is from the dharkers 2006 collection, the terrorist at my table, a collection of poems which questions humanity on our awareness of the people around us.

Question 3

key quotes

Answer 3

• this is what could alter things
• well used books, the back of koran
• pages smoothed and stroked and turned
• the sun shines through their borderlines
• might fly our lives like paper kites
• if buildings were paper, i might feel their drift
• layer over layer, luminous script and monoliths
• trace a grand design with living tissue

Question 4

What poems can you do a comparison with nature, the power of humans, identity and memory in

Answer 4

• Ozymandias

- poppies

Question 5

language and themes

Answer 5

• light imagery is used throughout the poem as something which is able to move through things, break through boundaries and allow people to see.
• the delicacy of paper is emphasized through the use of adjectives to describe the firmness.
• the use of money, architecture and book binding all creates an extended metaphor for human life and skin.